Child of Mine
by Lady Nightshade
Summary: Takes place in between chapters 2 and 3 of "Hunters at Midnight II." Goes into Arora's thoughts on the past and present when her daughter brings up the word Father. ONE SHOT


Child of Mine  
  
Author's Notes: This story takes place during "Hunters at Midnight: II Utopia" this takes place after chapter and before chapter three. Basically goes into what Arora thinks about after telling her daughter, Gobaith, the edited version of her, Arora, and Yami and remembers times after she left Yami and before she gave birth to their daughter.   
  
"Me and Emily" is owned by Rachel Proctor  
  
Floorboard's filled with baby toys,  
  
An' empty coke bottles an' coffee cups.  
  
Drivin' through the rain with no radio,  
  
Tryin' not to wake her up.  
  
Cell 'phone says "low battery",  
  
God, what if I break down?  
  
I'm just lookin' for an exit with a lotta lights,  
  
A safe little interstate town.   
  
Arora sighed and leaned back against the wood of the carriage seat, Gobaith was asleep in the buggy her small arms wrapped tightly around a raggedy stuffed cat. Tonight she had asked a question that Arora had been waiting for ever since she was old enough to understand what made up a family. Traveling around on her own without any male had not been smart but the idea of being with another man after Yami left her cold and hollow inside, she didn't want to replace Yami with someone else. No matter how many times she braced herself for when Gobaith would ask about her father she hadn't been prepared for it.   
  
Arora sighed and closed her eyes as a soft rain began to fall, she pulled the horses over to the side and grabbing a tarp created a small tent over where the small girl lay so she wouldn't get sick. The soft sound of the rain wouldn't wake her but the cold and wet would. Arora was always careful when dealing with Gobaith many of the village males looked down at her and a few of the women did as well, she was after all an unmarried woman. Yet, the most of the women seemed to take pity on her for not having a man in her life and having to raise a child on her own.   
  
Still having to explain the girl's father was never an easy thing to do.   
  
'It is hard,' she thought climbing back onto the carriage so they could continue.  
  
Arora always told them that the father wasn't who she thought her was and that was true to some point. She had thought that Yami had truly loved her, but she had been delusional all he had cared about was his own twisted pleasures and revenge. Still despite herself she had found herself falling in love with him in the short amount of time that she had known him. She wished she hadn't given in the second time he seduced her. She should have held on to her anger, but she didn't and now she had a child that caused her heart to break every time she looked into Gobaith's eyes. Eyes that were exactly like her father's. Don't get her wrong she loved Gobaith with every fiber of her being; still it hurt to know that her father wouldn't love her.   
  
"Father," said Gobaith, the little girl's voice echoed in Arora's mind, remind her about the conversation that they had held an hour before hand.   
  
Just a cheap hotel,  
  
With a single bed,  
  
And cable TV:  
  
Is good enough for me an' Emily.   
  
Flashback  
  
"Father," repeated Gobaith. "I want to know about my father."  
  
    "What brought this on?"  
  
    "All the children at the other town wanted to know about my father and I didn't know what to tell them, because I don't know my father."  
  
    "I was wondering when you were going to ask me this," said Arora starting the carriage again.  
  
    "So?"  
  
    "Well," said Arora. "I have no idea where to begin."  
  
    "Why don't you begin where you meet daddy?" suggested Gobaith.  
  
    "I guess after all," said Arora. "We have a long way to go." Arora thought for a moment trying to decide where to start. "Well, you know I slay vampires right?"  
  
"Yes," said the little girl propping her elbows on Arora's thigh and starting up at her mother.   
  
"Well, that is how I meet your father," said Arora deciding not to let her know that her father was a vampire; the girl didn't experience blood lust because of the silver bracelet that the girl wore, one that was similar to Arora's own. "I was tracking a vampire that had taken my leader hostage when I ran into him."  
  
"What was he like?" asked Gobaith interrupting her mother.   
  
"He was beautiful," whispered Arora softly. "He was tall and there was an alluring charm about him and a small that captured me. His eyes were the same beautiful color as yours and his hair was wild and seemed to defy all logic."  
  
"Did you love him?"  
  
"With all my heart," said Arora after a long moment.   
  
"Did he love you?"  
  
Arora's silence this time lasted a longer time and she seemed to be lost in thought.   
  
"Mommy?"  
  
"No, baby," whispered Arora softly her voice breaking slightly. "He didn't love me."  
  
"Do you think he would love me?"  
  
Arora blinked slightly and looked down to small at her daughter, "of course," she lied. "Who wouldn't love you?"  
  
Gobaith smiled back up at her mother and laid her head on her mother's thigh.   
  
"Did you leave him because he didn't love you?" asked Gobaith softly.   
  
"Yes," whispered Arora. "I don't think he ever could."  
  
"Why?"  
  
"I don't know baby."  
  
"Where you two together long?"  
  
"Long enough for him to give me you."  
  
Gobaith smiled and then yawned slowly.   
  
"Go to bed baby whispered Arora kissing the top of her daughter's head.  
  
"Okay mommy," said the girl climbing into the buggy among the bags and equipment and curling up among several blankets and stuffed toys so she would be warm before falling asleep.  
  
Arora smiled and pulled a blanket over her daughter not taking her eyes from the road.  
  
End of Flashback  
  
Some day, when she's old enough,  
  
She's gonna start askin' questions about him.  
  
Some kid at school brings his Dad for show an' tell,  
  
An' gets her little mind a-wonderin':  
  
"Where's my Daddy? Do I have one?  
  
"Does he not love me like you do?"  
  
Oh, maybe I'll find someone to love the both of us,  
  
An' I'll tell her when she's old enough to know the truth.   
  
Arora sighed it hurt to lie to her daughter like that, she hadn't told her daughter about her father being a vampire king. She knew somehow that Yami never would love Gobaith, for her human blood. Besides she didn't think the vampire king could love anyone but himself. He sure as hell didn't love Arora with her half vampire blood she was still human so she doubted he could love their daughter even with a third of her blood being vampiric. Their daughter would be nothing more then cattle to him.   
  
Still she knew that at some point or another she would have to tell the little girl the truth. She just didn't want to tell her now. When people still feared the vampires maybe if the Humans and Vampires lived in peace or if the vampires were all dead she would tell the girl. But for now their survival depended on them both being part vampire would have to remain a secret.   
  
Speaking of the vampires getting along with the humans she heard whispers of Yami wanting to form a Utopian society where they could live in peace. Yami wanting such a thing would almost be funny. It had to be a farce. Yami would never want something like this it just didn't fit with his blood thirsty nature. He was so caught up in his bitterness and lust for revenge that nothing good, other then Gobaith, could come from him.   
  
Then again who was she to talk; she was so caught up in her anger towards Yami for hurting her that she was taking it out on his kind. Still she felt that to some degree they deserved it. She didn't hate them like she once did, now ever since her time with Yami and her going into blood lust made her better understand them. Controlling the blood lust was hard to do and they knew that they couldn't control it given the fact that they are full blooded vampires or at least not control it well.  
  
Will it break her heart?  
  
Will she understand,  
  
That I had to leave?  
  
That's what was best for me an' Emily.   
  
The rain was starting to pour down really hard now and Arora had to pull under a stone bridge to stay mostly dry. She sighed and closed her eyes and allowed her mind to wonder thinking about him made her feel warm and she could no longer feel the cold of the rain and wind against her skin. If she tried hard enough she could almost imagine his hands running along her arms before wrapping around her and holding her against him. She sighed smelling his scent and feeling the warmth coming from his body. She leaned her head back and sighed wishing that things were different between them. Yet she knew that they would never be the way she wanted them to be.   
  
"I love you," she whispered to the wind hoping that in some way it could reach the man she loved.  
  
The only answer she received was the sound of the rain hitting the surrounding forest areas and stone bridge, and the whistling of the wind. She bite back a sob and tried to stop the tears from falling down her face. It wouldn't do to break down now not when after so many months of traveling she hadn't cried. She remembered crying when she had been in labor and had wished desperately for Yami to be with her. But he wasn't there with her and he probably no longer cared about what had happened to you. For all you knew he could think you were dead.   
  
"I love you," she whispered again softly. "Even if you don't love me, I love you and that will never change."  
  
That house was never clean enough; his dinner never warm enough.  
  
Nothing I did was ever good enough to make him happy.  
  
So, I guess, he gave me what he thought I deserved,  
  
But it would kill me if he ever raised his hand to her.   
  
She winced thinking about what her life would have been like if she hadn't run away and if Yami had discovered that she had been pregnant with Gobaith. She didn't want to think of her daughter's small body covered in bruises by the man that had helped to sire her. She closed her eyes and tried to shake the image from her mind. A part of her said that not even Yami would sink so low as to not harm their child, but part of her was unsure about that.   
  
She knew that it wouldn't be long before some of the other kids started to question her lack of a father and begin to take their father's aspect on what she was. Arora knew what the fathers and some of the mothers thought about her, they thought she was a whore and several times there was whispering about the child being the daughter of a trick. They whispered degrading words behind her back but still loud enough for her to hear them. That didn't bother her, she was a big girl and could take care of herself. What bothered her was the whispering conversations they had about Gobaith being a bastard child.   
  
Arora winced remembering one of the conversations with a man in one of the villages when she was staying at hotels that weren't too bad but weren't too good either.   
  
Flashback  
  
Arora walked into a hotel with Gobaith latched onto her back like a baby monkey.   
  
"Excuse me," she says walking up to the innkeeper's wife. "Is there a free room avaible?"  
  
"Yes, there is," said the plump woman smiling warmly at Arora. "But I am afraid that there is only one bed in it."  
  
"That is good enough for us," said Arora setting her pack down and reaching for her bag of money and handing the woman some coins to pay for the room.  
  
"Thank you," said the woman in gratitude for the rather large tip. "Come with me."  
  
Arora grabbed her bag and followed the woman up the stairs to the empty room and set Gobaith down on the bed next to their bag.  
  
"Where is the girl's father?" asked the woman.  
  
"He is no longer in the picture," said Arora slowly then thanking the woman again began to set the place up for the short period of time she would be here.   
  
"Are you hungry?" Arora asked the little girl.   
  
"Yes," the girl said plopping back onto Arora's back.  
  
Arora laughed and together mother and daughter headed back downstairs and got a table in the corner so they could have some food. After dinner Gobaith was napping on her mother's thigh when a man came up to Arora and sat across from her.   
  
"Looking for a good time?" asked the man smirking the stench of bad wine coming from his breathe and clothes.  
  
"No," said Arora calmly. "I am sorry but I am not interested."  
  
"Come on," said the man hoping to persuade the dark haired beauty. "You know you want to get into bed with me."  
  
"I am sorry," said Arora taking Gobaith into her arms and getting to her feet. "I believe you have me confused for someone else."  
  
"Listen bitch," snarled the man grabbing her arm. "I have money to pay for your cheap services."  
  
Arora stared at the man before kneeing his groin and then his chest the man went sprawling into the wall.   
  
"As I said before I am not interested," said Arora before tossing the innkeeper's wife some money to pay for the dinner and damages.  
  
The woman nodded and smiled at the young hunter before laughing under her breath. No one would come up to her after that however, that didn't stop the whispers and rumors among the men. Even though she did save all their asses from the vampires which, just somehow managed to feed the rumors.  
  
End of Flashback   
  
Big rigs are throwin' rain on my windshield,  
  
An' I feel like they're laughin' at me.  
  
Fin'lly the storm is lettin' up,  
  
An' the mornin' is breakin' free.   
  
Arora looked out and watched as the rain slowly began to let up and the sun sneak out behind the clouds. She blinked had it really been raining that long? She hadn't realized it had done so, she sighed and moved the wagon back onto the road and took her place on the front again and started the horses off again. Which they did with little complaint evidently the horses had been resting while it rained. She took a deep breath taking in the scent of wet grass and flowers. It was a brand new day and she had to find some new work even though she and her daughter could live comfortably for at least two years without work. She didn't want to stop working, it helped get her mind on things and besides it helped her stay in shape. She didn't want to think about the real reason she was doing this.   
  
The real reason she was doing this was because on some level she hoped to get Yami's attention just so she could see him again, even if it was for just a moment. She prayed that she would stop loving him because it broke her heart to look into her daughter's eyes and see an innocent light within them unlike her father's dark fire that always burned with lust, obsession, and power. She pursed her lips and could still taste his lips on her own at times when the wind was cold and biting and she and Gobaith would have to huddle together for warmth when things had just started and when there were no open hotels. A harsh reminder of what she no longer had.   
  
She looked up and smiled when she saw birds flying overhead singing their songs of life and peace. She sighed and fixed her eyes back on the road as they passed over a wooden bridge and its babbling broke. She reached behind her and moved the tarp covering the small girl in the back slightly so the warmth of the sun would soak into her bones and wake her gently.   
  
It's a brand new day,  
  
It's a second chance.  
  
Yesterday is just a memory,  
  
For me an' Emily.  
  
She passed by a field where men, women, and their children, entire families working together in the field to get the work done. Every now and then some of the women would look up and wave at her she would give a brief wave back always being careful not to run over any of the children who dashed along beside the cart in awe of the horses while their parents called them back laughing.   
  
Finally Arora got past the field and let out a sigh of relief seeing families together and happy always did hurt her deeply. She breathed deeply and struggled once again to stop the tears from flowing. She wanted a family but knew that no one would truly accept her like her father had and her friends had. Now she wasn't sure she wanted to tell people about what she was. She was sure that they would be terrified and try to kill her and Gobaith, especially if they discovered she was the daughter of the Vampire King. Arora snarled she would kill anyone that raised a hand to her daughter, be they vampire, human, hybrid, or even one of the other hunters. If they raised a hand or finger to Gobaith they would die either way.   
  
Arora's keen hearing picked up movement in the buggy and she knew that her baby was starting to wake up. She looked over her shoulder quickly and saw her daughter yawn and stretch still holding onto the stuffed animal. Then sleepily she crawled from the nest of animals and blankets and crawled up to sit beside her mother wrapping her arms around Arora's waist and watching the scenery pass by and watching as they entered into a new town.   
  
Floorboard is filled with baby toys,  
  
An' empty coke bottles an' coffee cups.  
  
Least there's one good thing that he gave me,  
  
An' she's startin' to wake up  
  
Author's Notes: Well here we go a Hunters at Midnight one shot and will probably be the only one. Anywho I am probably going to write another one shot soon but that one will focus on Isis and Rashid and will take place in the normal YUGIOH timeline. Well before I go check out these two stories by a friend of mine Sire deal with Pernia, Seto, and Nikushimi. 


End file.
